Early Warning Signs of High Insulin and Its Impact on Metabolic Health

This podcast episode meticulously distinguishes between the common understanding of high blood glucose symptoms and the often-overlooked, earlier warning signs of elevated insulin levels. The host emphasizes that while high blood glucose symptoms (like excessive thirst or dehydration) indicate a late-stage problem, subtle shifts in insulin levels are far more sensitive indicators of developing metabolic dysfunction. The episode highlights that optimal fasting blood glucose is a narrow 82-88 mg/dL, and optimal fasting insulin is even narrower, ideally between 2-5 micro-units/mL, with anything over 17 micro-units/mL considered too high, despite conventional lab ranges often being much broader.

The core argument is that insulin resistance is a global health crisis, affecting an estimated 20-25% of the world's population with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, and potentially 60-80% with mild to moderate insulin resistance. This widespread metabolic unhealth is identified as the single biggest contributor to major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, dementia (dubbed "type 3 diabetes"), and even cancer. The speaker illustrates a hypothetical 20-year progression where blood glucose remains relatively stable due to the body's compensatory insulin production, masking the underlying problem until the system completely fails, at which point glucose levels spike dramatically.

The podcast details ten specific warning signs of high insulin, including creeping blood glucose, sugar cravings, persistent hunger (due to inability to access stored fat), stubborn weight gain, fatigue (cellular energy starvation despite high blood sugar), brain fog, hypertension (due to increased sodium and water retention), skin tags and acanthosis nigricans (due to insulin's anabolic and mitogenic effects), and neuropathy (nerve damage from AGEs, oxidative stress, and impaired blood flow). Each sign is explained with its underlying physiological mechanism, emphasizing how high insulin drives these issues long before blood glucose becomes overtly problematic.

Finally, the episode stresses the critical importance of early detection through specific blood tests beyond standard glucose and A1C. It advocates for measuring fasting insulin, triglycerides (aiming for 50-90 mg/dL), eGFR, and the total cholesterol to HDL ratio. The host concludes by asserting that insulin is 23 times more sensitive as an indicator of metabolic disease than blood glucose, yet it is rarely tested. The overarching message is to understand these early signs and diagnostic markers to intervene proactively and reverse metabolic dysfunction, rather than waiting for late-stage diagnoses when the body's control mechanisms have already failed.

optimal is a lot more narrow than that actually, so 82 to 88 is probably the sweet spot.

This is the number one health problem in the world... 20 to 25% of the world's population have metabolic disease.

Ideally, we're talking about a number between two and five... anything over 17 would definitely be too high.

this is the single biggest contributor to things like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, dementia, and even cancer.

If we have too high a level of insulin, now that's going to prevent the breakdown [of fat]. And what that means is when we need that energy... we can't retrieve it.

insulin resistance keeps it from getting into the cell. So in a way, the inside of the cell is still low on energy, it's low on fuel, and you have an abundance in the bloodstream.

insulin resistance is one of the primary causes of dementia—so much, in fact, that they've given it the nickname "type 3 diabetes."

insulin is 23 times more sensitive a variable for us to look at. And yet, nobody tests insulin.

Most of the time, they associate diabetes and insulin resistance with high blood sugar, which is true—that's where it eventually gets. But where does it start? When does it become a problem?

The body is working so hard at keeping the glucose down.